Beaters typically comprise a main body having a striking surface, as well as an elongate shaft to which the main body is attached. Such beaters are generally adapted for being joined at one end to a so-called “bass drum pedal”. By means of the bass drum pedal, such beaters are operable to a rotational movement around an axis of the bass drum pedal by a foot of a player in order to generate a striking movement.
The function of such a beater consists in inducing vibrations into a drum head of a big drum, especially a bass drum, by making the striking surface of the beater strike the drum head and thereby generate a sound. In this regard, several parameters are decisive for the sound characteristics:
1. the kinetic energy applied to the drum by means of the beater, wherein the kinetic energy can be influenced by the weight/mass of the beater (heavy weight—high sound level—rich sound; small weight—shallow sound);
2. the dimension of a struck area of the drum (a small stricken area results in a “slower” build-up of the sound, whereas a larger stricken area results in a more explosive reaction of the resonating body);
3. the hardness of the striking surface of the beater, wherein a hard striking surface produces a high proportion of harmonics and a well-defined impact, whereas a soft striking surface results in a low proportion of harmonics and in a soft impact.
In order to be able to vary the parameter of the applied kinetic energy, it is known to provide additional bulk elements, which are mounted on the surface of the main body of the beater. Moreover, it is known to provide an additional bulk element in the form of a cylinder having a central bore through which the shaft of the beater passes, so that the cylinder is displaceable on the shaft. By means of the displacement, a change of the position of the bulk element and therefore a change of the momentum induced by the bass drum pedal are achieved.
However, the last mentioned solution has the disadvantage that, for replacing a cylinder, either the beater has to be removed from the bass drum pedal or the main body of the beater has to be dismounted from the shaft. As to the first mentioned solution, the mounting of the bulk elements on the surface of the main body allows only for relatively flat bulk elements, since otherwise the diameter of the main body would be enlarged, and the main body would tend to be more bulky.
In order to achieve a good sound quality, it is further decisive that the striking surface of the beater strikes the drum head of the drum in parallel. For this, it is necessary to be able to vary an angle between the main body and the shaft of the beater, so that, if, for example, there is a change of a distance between the bass drum pedal and the drum which leads to a change of the point of impact and therefore to a change of the impact angle (strike angle) between the striking surface and the drum head, the angle between the main body and the shaft can be adapted so that the striking surface strikes the drum head of the drum in parallel again.
From U.S. Pat. No. 7,211,720 B1, there is known a beater for a bass drum according to which a shaft of the beater passes through a bore in a main body, wherein the bore is designed so that there is a certain clearance so that an angle between the main body and the shaft can be adjusted within a small range. There is provided a fastening screw for fixing a set angular position of the main body with regard to the shaft by turning the screw.
A similar possibility of variation of an angle between a main body and a shaft is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,946. In the case described therein, there is provided an axis running perpendicularly to the shaft of the beater, wherein the main body is rotatable around the axis, if a threaded bolt is unscrewed, which threaded bolt causes clamping of the main body to the axis when tightened. In order to fix a set angular position, the threaded bolt must be tightened.
However, in each of the cases mentioned above, a mechanic clamping has to be released before the angle between main body and shaft can be changed.